Australian productions highlights from Foxtel for 2017

New productions

Australia Day – Foxtel Movies

Foxtel’s commitment to original drama continues with the bold new feature film Australia Day, co- produced with Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning producers Hoodlum. Bryan Brown leads a stellar cast with Shari Sebbens (The Sapphires), Sean Keenan (Glitch), Matthew Le Nevez (The Kettering Incident, Offspring) Daniel Webber, Elias Anton, Jenny Wu, Isabelle Cornish, Phoenix Raei and rising star 14-year-old Miah Madden. Acclaimed director Kriv Stenders (Red Dog, A Place To Call Home) directs writer Stephen M. Irwin’s (Secrets & Lies) gripping and unpredictable script. Set in Brisbane over 12 hours, Australia Day explores the lives of three Australians from diverse backgrounds whose different worlds collide, illuminating contemporary issues that simmer beneath the surface of modern Australia. The heartfelt drama interweaves these three stories and highlights the aspirations of everyday Australians on the most controversial national holiday, Australia Day. Powerful, thought-provoking, and ultimately uplifting, Australia Day will be released in cinemas in 2017 and have its Australian television premiere on Foxtel.

Picnic at Hanging Rock – showcase

Picnic at Hanging Rock is a six-part drama re-imagining the timeless Australian novel by Joan Lindsay. With provocative explorations of the underlying themes of gender, control, identity and burgeoning sexuality, the drama will plunge viewers into the mysterious disappearance of three schoolgirls and their governess on Valentine’s Day 1900 and the secrets this event lays bare in its wake. Picnic at Hanging Rock is a FremantleMedia Australia production for Foxtel.

Top of the Lake – BBC First

Elisabeth Moss, Gwendoline Christie and Nicole Kidman star in the second season of the award-winning and critically-acclaimed Top of The Lake from Oscar winner Jane Campion. Moss (Mad Men) reprises her Golden Globe-winning role as Detective Robin Griffin, in the second series of the Emmy and Golden Globe nominated Top Of The Lake for BBC First and Foxtel from See-Saw Films. Set in Sydney, Top Of The Lake season 2 is a crime mystery story that begins four years on from the explosive ending of the first season. When the unidentified body of an Asian girl washes up onto Sydney’s Bondi Beach the case seems hopeless – until detective Robin Griffin discovers that ‘China Girl’ didn’t die alone. Also joining the cast for the six-part season two are David Dencik (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Alice Englert (Beautiful Creatures) and Ewen Leslie (The Daughter).

The Great Australian Cookbook – Lifestyle FOOD

Lifestyle FOOD takes you on an adventure around the country to meet the nation’s culinary legends. Over 10 episodes, The Great Australian Cookbook highlights our best chefs cooking their favourite dishes for the people they love most. The series features 25 of our top chefs and cooks including Darren Robertson and Magdalena Roze as they share their joy and love for food – with the recipes that are closest to their own hearts: the special dishes they cook for their family, friends and staff. They also let us into their homes as they reveal the stories behind those favourite dishes, whether it’s the treasured family recipe handed down over generations that inspired their own stellar career, or the tried and true simple crowd pleaser the kids can’t get enough of. We also meet our unsung local Aussie heroes – the CWA baking champion, the bush tucker expert, plus fishermen, farmers and pastry cooks. From Alice Springs to Bruny Island, Freemantle to Far North Queensland, The Great Australian Cookbook is an affectionate culinary snapshot of the food Australians love to cook, eat and enjoy.

Common Sense – Lifestyle

From the creators of the global phenomenon Gogglebox comes Common Sense – a highly entertaining new format launching on Foxtel’s Lifestyle and Network Ten in 2017. Produced by EndemolShine Australia, Common Sense will feature a cast of real people and their real opinions as they round up the week’s most talked about news topics in conversation with one another in their workplace. From general news and current affairs to the latest in politics, sport and popular culture. Common Sense will bring genuine and immediate reactions that collectively highlight the nation’s unfiltered take and different points of view on the best talking points that week. Drawing from newspapers, radio, magazines and websites, Common Sense will tackle every topic that shouldn’t be talked about at dinner parties, and filter the news of the week into an informative, insightful and entertaining hour. Common Sense is the second jointly commissioned series between Foxtel and Network Ten, and follows on from the enormous success of Gogglebox, which debuted in Australia in 2015.

Love It Or List It – Lifestyle

Hillary Clinton’s favourite show – Love It Or List It – is another new local addition to the Lifestyle family in which homeowners have to decide between keeping their newly renovated home, and selling it. With the associated costs of moving, along with the emotional toll it can have, sometimes it’s easier and more economical to stay put. What happens though when a house has been outgrown, or has just become old-fashioned or a little unloved? Enter our property expert and interior designer. The former will try and find “list it” options while the latter will transform the current property with tight budgets, often recycling items already in the house, and try to persuade the owners to “love it” once again. Already a hit in Canada, USA and the UK, the all-Australian version of the show will be produced by Beyond Productions exclusively for Foxtel’s Lifestyle.

The Real Housewives of Sydney – Arena

The highly anticipated, glamorous reality series, The Real Housewives of Sydney, features seven charismatic and engaging Housewives who enjoy the extravagant, stylish and cosmopolitan lifestyle of Sydney. Between them they run successful companies, travel the world in luxury, attend the most exclusive parties and are the matriarchs of their million dollar mansions. All women are fascinating in their own right and when put together create a diverse mix of magic and mayhem. The Real Housewives of Sydney are; artistic, free spirit AthenaX Levendi; energetic ex-model turned real estate agent Krissy Marsh; funny, opinionated mother of two Lisa Oldfield; cosmetic nurse and beauty expert of Sydney Matty Samaei; triple threat, actress, model, singer Melissa Tkautz; photogenic party planner and former Miss Australia Nicole O’Neil; and last but not least, entrepreneurial mum and social scene queen Victoria Rees. The ten-part series is produced by Matchbox Pictures in conjunction with Foxtel and premieres early 2017 on Arena.

Pacific Heat – COMEDY

Foxtel’s new local comedy commission, Pacific Heat, is Australia’s first adult animation, and the latest comedy from the award-winning Working Dog team of Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Rob Sitch and Michael Hirsh. Set on the glitzy, glamorous Gold Coast, a sun-drenched paradise where sun and surf meet soaring crime rates, the 13-part series is based on the exploits of an undercover special police unit known as “Pacific Heat”. Unconventional, uncompromising and with an arrest rate second to none, the “Pacific Heat” team is not afraid to operate outside the law – provided at least one of them is wearing a fluorescent safety vest. Special Agent Todd Sommerville (voiced by Rob Sitch) is a cop unconcerned with bending the rules; Special Agent Zac Valentic (voiced by Santo Cilauro) is the tough man of the team; and The Chief (voiced by Tom Gleisner) has seen it all. Special Agents Maddie Riggs (voiced by Rebecca Massey) and Veronica “V.J.” Delane (voiced by Lucia Mastrantone) combine the brains and beauty of the team.

Whose Line Is It Anyway? – COMEDY

Whose Line Is It Anyway? Australia adds a local twist to the world-famous improvisational led by series’ host Tommy Little. Comedy superstar Rhys Darby is joined by festival favourites Cal Wilson, Tegan Higginbotham and Susie Youssef, along with world-class improviser Steen Raskopoulos, and exciting newcomers Bridie Connell and Tom Walker. Four of the cast will perform together in each episode’s improv sketches with no-one knowing where the sketches will end up. The performers are forced to get themselves into insane situations with improv challenges often demanding song and dance but most importantly, jokes. Energetic and unpredictable, it’s Whose Line but not as you’ve seen it before. The ten-part series was filmed in front of a live audience in Melbourne exclusively for Foxtel and executive produced by Kevin Whyte, Guesswork Television, and Craig Campbell, +61 TV.

Lawless: The Real Bushrangers – HISTORY

This four-part HISTORY channel documentary series unearths the truth behind Australia’s legendary bushrangers. Australian colonial history is full of stories of violent murders and gun toting mayhem, foundation tales of those that make and break the law. From the birth of the Ned Kelly legend to the violent death of Ben Hall, these pivotal events are often shrouded in mystery and folklore. Now Mike Munro, Australia’s own television icon returns to our screens to present a ground-breaking series examining these stories like never before. For the first time on television, a specialist team, accompanied by living descendants, investigates the legends of these rebels and the people who fought against them using the full force of modern day science. Lawless: The Real Bushrangers combines cinematic re-enactments and high-end graphics together with a specialist team of highly credible experts, historians, archaeologists and forensic scientists. This series will take you on a remarkable journey to uncover new evidence, deliver new insights and reveal some deeply inconvenient truths in a series that will change how Australians see their folk heroes – and themselves. Lawless: The Real Bushrangers is produced by Genepool Productions.

Demolition Man – A&E

Join Lawrie Voutier the demolition man and his crew of misfits, big trucks and excavators as they smash, crash and bash everything from heritage mansions to industrial warehouses for cash. Don’t be fooled, Lawrie’s not just a demolition man, he’s also a treasure hunter. He salvages stuff that would otherwise end up at the tip, finding rare items which he’s accumulated into one of the world’s best collections, worth millions. Ripping down buildings means ripping down history and amongst that history there’s always something to be salvaged (as long as you can recognise it) for big money. From vintage cars to a bucket of roofing screws, Lawrie has found it all – in, under and around these building. Lawrie’s a master negotiator, and it’s his job that is part precision chaos, part treasure hunt and every job is unique with its own set of dangers and potential for hidden gold. What he finds he drags back to his shop to sell, and he knows how to sell it for a quid. Demolition Man is produced by CJZ for Foxtel’s A&E.

Men of Wood & Foam – HISTORY

This is the story of the pioneers of the Australian surfboard industry known affectionately as the Brookvale Mafia. Through the stories of these Aussie pioneers we’ll trace the roots of the modern Australian surfboard, from fine-tuning the toothpick for wave riding in the 40s through to the arrival of the Malibu chip, the development of the Okanui in the 50s and the peroxide surf boom of the early 60s. The exclusive one-hour documentary that uncovers a golden decade in surfing, starting in 1956, when surfing was transformed into a sport and culture with its very own music, movies, fashion and heroes. Underpinning this exciting transformation was a small group of artisans who started out in the 1950s making wooden surfboards in their backyards along Sydney’s eastern beaches, before eventually moving to Brookvale where they experimented with “blowing foam” to make lighter and more responsive surfboards from plastics. Featuring in-depth interviews with all members of The Brookvale Six: Gordon Woods, Bill Wallace, Scott Dillon, Danny Keogh, Greg McDonagh and Barry Bennett, leading surfers including Layne Beachley, Nat Young and the late Midget Farrelly, famous faces from the time including Patricia ‘Little Pattie’ Amphlett; as well as rare archival surfing footage spanning seven decades and detailed re-enactment scenes, Men of Wood & Foam explores a truly iconic time in Australian sporting and cultural history. Men of Wood & Foam is produced by Backbeach Pictures and Panga Productions.

Court Justice – Sydney – CI

For the first time on Australian television, cameras are allowed inside Australia’s busiest local court complex – The Downing Centre in Sydney. This observational documentary series gives viewers an exclusive behind-the-scenes look into the daily dramas facing the Magistrates as they hear all kinds of cases from drug possession and drink driving, to assault, theft, fraud and vandalism. The range of human stories is as broad as society itself. Defendants are rich and poor, young and old, serial offenders and first timers. The only constant is that they are all equal in the eyes of the law. When the magistrates pass their final judgments, lives change forever. Produced by CJZ.

Returning in 2017

A Place To Call Home – showcase

It is 1958 and four years have passed since we left Sarah and the Bligh family. Those four years have seen ever increasing changes in Australian society. The world of wealth and privilege is being eroded, moral values are fraying and a new young generation rises full of disaffection with the world of their elders. To them the War is a matter of the dead past, bringing conflict with those who suffered its pain and deprivation. Economic change and the devious actions of unseen enemies threaten Ash Park. Friends become bitter rivals and former enemies become unlikely allies. And in the midst of the turmoil, love becomes the only sure place anyone can call home. Stars Marta Dusseldorp and Noni Hazlehurst. A Place to Call Home is produced by Seven Productions for Foxtel.

Wentworth – showcase

Wentworth returns for a fifth season, resuming the story in the days following Bea Smith’s tragic death at the hands of Joan Ferguson. Emotional, psychological and professional shockwaves pound the inmates and staff of Wentworth prison. Vera (Kate Atkinson) is under fire from Corrective Services and, with Will (Robbie Magasiva) on suspension, she is relying more on her deputy Jake (Bernard Curry), not realising he is now Ferguson’s (Pamela Rabe) puppet. New Top Dog Kaz (Tammy MacIntosh) has a challenge to restore order amongst the traumatised inmates, though Sonia (Sigrid Thornton) remains aloof focusing on her upcoming trial. On the outside, it falls to Franky (Nicole da Silva) to break the devastating news to Allie (Kate Jenkinson). The bold and confronting drama also stars 2016 TV Week Logie Award-winner for Most Outstanding Supporting Actress Celia Ireland as Liz, Shareena Clanton as Doreen, Katrina Milosevic as Boomer and Socratis Otto as Maxine. Wentworth is a FremantleMedia Australia production. It is Foxtel’s longest running Australia drama, with a devoted fan base here and in 141 territories around the world.

The Great Australian Bake Off – Lifestyle FOOD

On your marks, get set…bake! Judged by culinary icon Maggie Beer and acclaimed chef Matt Moran, and hosted by comedians Claire Hooper and Mel Buttle, a third season of The Great Australian Bake Off will return to Lifestyle FOOD in 2017. The Great Australian Bake Off is a 10-part series that follows 12 home-baking enthusiasts as they are put through a series of intricate elimination challenges, baking a mouthwatering selection of cakes, pies, tarts, pastries, bread, biscuits and desserts, all in the hope of being crowned Australia’s Best Home Baker. The Bake Off franchise began in 2010 with The Great British Bake Off, where it remains, after six seasons, a ratings phenomenon. The format has been produced locally in the US, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Poland, Ireland, Norway, Finland, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Turkey, Ukraine and France, as well as previously in Australia for the Nine Network in 2013. The Great Australian Bake Off is a FremantleMedia Australia production for Foxtel based on a format created by Love Productions, distributed by BBC Worldwide and broadcast by the BBC in the United Kingdom.

Selling Houses Australia – Lifestyle

Selling Houses Australia, subscription television’s record breaking, ASTRA award winning property show, marks a major milestone as it returns for its tenth season. Celebrating its 100th episode, the much-loved trio of host Andrew Winter, interior designer Shaynna Blaze and landscape designer Charlie Albone, will tackle a dilapidated building for a very good cause. Meeting characters from the building’s past while transforming it into a future residence, emotions will run high as the auction hammer falls. Across the country, whether the housing market is growing or slowing, real estate dominates the headlines and Australians have a keen interest in property, whether they’re first home buyers or investors, upsizing or downsizing. With Selling Houses Australia there’s the chance to learn from this A-team’s expertise and experience as it travels the country leaving a wake of more saleable houses. Selling Houses Australia is produced by Beyond Productions exclusively for Foxtel’s Lifestyle.

Gogglebox Australia – Lifestyle

The hit local-production, Gogglebox Australia continues to impress with the past two seasons securing the most watched spot for subscription television on Wednesdays. The TV WEEK Logie Award-winning show about people watching television takes viewers into 11 Australian lounge rooms to capture the often hilarious and heart-warming reactions of some of the country’s most opinionated and avid television viewers. The much-loved Gogglebox households include best mates and larrikins, Adam & Symon; bubbly Greek best friends, Anastasia & Faye; cocktail-loving, Wayne & Tom; the sportscrazy Jackson Family; the fun-loving and cricket-mad, Delpechitra Family; vivacious friends and housemates, Angie & Yvie; Indigenous art dealers, Mick & Di; the close-knit Dalton Family; the happily married couple, Lee & Keith; the three generations of women in the The Silbery Family; and old high school acquaintances and housemates, Zina & Vivian. Jointly commissioned by Foxtel and Network Ten, and produced by Endemol Shine Australia, Gogglebox airs first on Lifestyle, and then on Ten the following night.

Grand Designs Australia – Lifestyle

The top-rating Grand Designs Australia, hosted by leading Australian architect Peter Maddison, once again brings the characters, the houses and the stories together in an insightful season of inspiration and appreciation when it returns for its seventh season. This all-Australian version of the highly respected global format showcases Australia’s most elaborate home designs and follows homeowners as they embark on building ambitious properties. The series captures the tremendous diversity of the house, its construction, and the way we live. From the concept, design, materials, technology to logistics, timelines, budgets and personalities, multiple factors come into play as ideas and visions take form and come to life. This beautifully produced series creates a highly watchable narrative of homeowners and their universal dream of making a concept house their home. Grand Designs Australia is produced by FremantleMedia Australia, exclusively for Foxtel’s Lifestyle.

The Real Housewives of Melbourne – Arena

Melbourne’s most fascinating, scintillating and infamous Housewives are gearing up for more high-end drama and over-the-top luxury when The Real Housewives of Melbourne returns for season four. This entertaining soap-doc provides an insider view of the lifestyles of Melbourne’s most wealthy and extravagant women with a revealing insight into their world. Casting is currently underway for the fourth season which will once again be produced by Matchbox Pictures in conjunction with Foxtel.

7th Annual CMC Music Awards – CMC

CMC, Australia’s only destination for country music television, will broadcast The 7th Annual CMC Music Awards LIVE and hosted by Australia’s own Morgan Evans. The CMC Music Awards attract country music’s biggest names and are the only viewer voted country music awards in the southern hemisphere, giving fans the opportunity to vote for their favourite Australian and international country artists over eight categories. The 7th Annual CMC Music Awards will feature a stellar line-up of first class international and local artists performing live at the awards. 2017 marks the third year the CMC Awards have been held in Queensland thanks to the partnership with Tourism and Events Queensland with the awards part of the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar, showcasing Australia’s best live events in spectacular destinations.

Stage & Screen – Foxtel Arts

Australia’s diverse and thriving arts scene is covered with weekly arts guide and review program Stage & Screen hosted by Deborah Hutton. Each week Deborah is joined by regular presenters, Australian iconic movie reviewer Margaret Pomeranz, legendary television critic Graeme Blundell, Australian cultural figure Leo Schofield and one of the country’s foremost arts writers Chris Hook from The Daily Telegraph, who provide viewers a snapshot and their critical insights of what’s on show, where and when across theatre, music, opera, dance, visual art, film and television. Stage & Screen features unique interviews with arts luminaries and the star performers of cinema, television and the live performing arts, offering insight into the diverse offerings and talent that exists right across the Australian arts and culture landscape.

Coast Australia – History

Foxtel’s hugely successful factual series Coast Australia, presented by internationally renowned British archaeologist and television presenter Neil Oliver, returns for season three. Each episode of the new season will showcase a different strip of Australia’s spectacular coastline over eight one-hour episodes, as Neil and his team of co-presenters gather stories about the history, the people, the archaeology, the geography and the marine life. The regions explored this season include Port Lincoln, Botany Bay, Portland, Esperance, King Island, Newcastle, Far North Queensland and North Kimberley. Throughout the series, Neil will again be joined by some of Australia’s leading experts in their field: palaeontologist Professor Tim Flannery, historian Dr Alice Garner, marine ecologist Professor Emma Johnston and landscape architect Brendan Moar, as well as brand new co-presenter Australian marine scientist, journalist, filmmaker and global adventurer, Dr Dean Miller. Coast is produced by Great Southern Film & Television.

Nickelodeon’s Slime Cup – Nickelodeon

In 2017, Nickelodeon Australia is turning up the slime-o-meter and bringing another awesome season of its biggest local adventure series SLIME CUP to Aussie kids. The series will bring MORE slime, teams and mind-blowing challenges than ever before in the history of Nickelodeon Australia. The SLIME SQUAD will push teams to their limits with the craziest challenges they can come up with, including the dreaded bug-eating and Stank Tank. In their race to win the “Guardians of Slime” title and some amazing prizes, teams will have to have the speed, smarts and stomachs of steel to make it through to the Grand Final! Now in its second year, SLIME CUP combines all the elements which Australian kids love in Nickelodeon’s long-standing properties such as Camp Orange and SLIMEFEST. The series invites kids from across Australia and New Zealand to team up with their best friend and vie for a place in the uniquely slimy competition.